The scholar's controversial claims are being explored in BBC2 series The Bible’s Buried Secrets.

His wife was presented as a deity in Israel and someone who sat alongside him, according to journal articles and books by the scholar.

Dr Francesca Stavrakopoulou, who has been given a primetime BBC slot, also claims that Eve has been ‘unfairly maligned’ by ‘middle-aged bearded men’ and should not have been blamed for the Fall of Man.

But some may raise eyebrows among viewers – including her suggestion that Eve was not the first woman in the Bible because the Garden of Eden did not belong in the original Old Testament.

The University of Exeter lecturer told Radio Times: ‘Eve, particularly in the Christian tradition, has been very unfairly maligned as the troublesome wife.’

But former MP Ann Widdecombe, who is a Roman Catholic, said: ‘I would guess that most other theologians will demolish her theory in three seconds flat.’

Dr Stavrakopoulou, who has a doctorate in theology from the University of Oxford, has confirmed she does not believe in God.

She said: ‘I’m an atheist with a huge respect for religion. I see what I do as a branch of history like any other.’

Dr Stavrakopoulou's claims that God had a wife appeared to be backed up by her own research into the subject.

In a recent article she wrote: 'Archaeological evidence including inscriptions, figurines and ancient texts as well as details in the Bible, indicate not just that he was one of several worshipped in ancient Israel, but that he was also coupled with a goddess. She was worshipped alongside him in his temple in Jerusalem.

'I spent several years specialising in the cultural and social contexts of the Bible and I discovered that Yahweh, the God we have come to know, had to see off a number of competitors to achieve his position as the one and only god of the ancient Israelites.'

'The biblical texts name many of them: El, Baal, Molek, Asherah. Despite Yahweh's assertion in the Ten Commandments that "You shall have no other gods before me", it appears these gods were worshipped alongside Him, and the Bible acknowledges this.'

'Far more significant is the Bible's admission that the goddess Asherah was worshipped in Yahweh's temple in Jerusalem. In the Book Of Kings, we're told that a statue of Asherah was housed in the temple and that female temple personnel wove ritual textiles for her.

'In fact, although the Bible condemns all of these practices, the biblical texts suggest that goddess worship was a thriving feature of high-status religion in Jerusalem. What, then, was her relationship to Yahweh?

'Ancient texts, amulets and figurines unearthed here reveal that she was a powerful fertility goddess.

''But perhaps most significant of all, Asherah was also the wife of El, the high god at Ugarit - a god who shares much in common with Yahweh. Given the evidence within the Bible that she was worshipped in the temple in Jerusalem, might she have played the role of a divine wife in ancient Israel too?'

In light of the sexism that pervades society these days, at least in this wretched country, canyou put aside your strict adherence to your theology for a second to imagine what it would have looked like for Christian women globally if the patriarchal God in the Bible had a coeval woman partner equal in power and stature?

What are your views on such things, Daesin?.PLEASE do not copy articles verbatim from other sites or post videos without comment! If you want to quote something, or post a video, fine... say where it comes from, provide a link, and also provide ANALYSIS and INSIGHT of your own. We're here to discuss and debate ideas we actually hold. So make your opinion clear.

.

I will only add that I think it's very difficult to know what Yahweisms looked like prior to King Josiah's monotheistic reforms, c.600sBCE. Stravrakopoulou certainly makes some good points.

What are your views on such things, Daesin?.PLEASE do not copy articles verbatim from other sites or post videos without comment! If you want to quote something, or post a video, fine... say where it comes from, provide a link, and also provide ANALYSIS and INSIGHT of your own. We're here to discuss and debate ideas we actually hold. So make your opinion clear.

.

I will only add that I think it's very difficult to know what Yahweisms looked like prior to King Josiah's monotheistic reforms, c.600sBCE. Stravrakopoulou certainly makes some good points.

.

[Edited 10/13/17 0:03am]

Thank you for reminding me of the Org rules: I should have posted my own analysis and insightfrom the article.

I think it makes sense that the Hebraic god had a female partner originally who was eventually elided from that narrative due to a desire to uphold a patriarchal monotheism with the line of thought beingwhere our regional neighbors' religious system supports polytheism, we only have one god who is tru-ly sovereign. However, all of this is purely speculative: we're talking about anthropomorphic godswho are then gendered and sexualized, just like we are as humans. I find this to be especially ridicu-lous, at least in 2017, but I understand the function of such a theology by the Hebrews. Finally, I think my response to Freaky also reveals my thoughts about this possibility of a Queen/Mother God too and the ramifications thereof.

Stavrakopoulos seems to be a gifted researcher and academic, so I actually hope she's not shoehorn-ing any bias into her scholarship and is actually onto something which should revolutionize the churchfor if you ask me. For, in the Bible, women are only to be conquered in body (the Eves; Jezebels; Delilahs, Bathshebas, etc.) or in soul (the Hannahs, Mary Magdalenes, etc). There are some women in the New Testament who are actually apostles but rarely celebrated in the church or as esteemed as their male counter-parts.

I actually hope she's [...] actually onto something which should revolutionize the church for if you ask me

.

Must be a hard sell for non-fundamentalist churches to accept such revolutions:."Come join the Christian community! Yes, our dominant text is a selective collection of ancient misogynist propaganda! But never fear, 'the Christian Project' is very much a work in progress. It still contains some vague 'spiritual truths' in some sense... maybe... "

In light of the sexism that pervades society these days, at least in this wretched country, canyou put aside your strict adherence to your theology for a second to imagine what it would have looked like for Christian women globally if the patriarchal God in the Bible had a coeval woman partner equal in power and stature?

.

I read this when you posted this and thought "Well duhh, this is hardly new". A quick check on Wikipedia confirms this is old news and nothing more than a cross promotion for her show.

.

In the intervening time we have had the Weinstein, Ben Affleck, Richard Branson etc etc etc issues and #metoo. I just scrolled past your title "God had a side piece" and remembered your defence here.

.

A woman is not a side piece, a wife is not a side piece, a person is not a side piece, a partner equal in power and stature is not a side piece just because she is a woman.

I actually hope she's [...] actually onto something which should revolutionize the church for if you ask me

.

Must be a hard sell for non-fundamentalist churches to accept such revolutions:."Come join the Christian community! Yes, our dominant text is a selective collection of ancient misogynist propaganda! But never fear, 'the Christian Project' is very much a work in progress. It still contains some vague 'spiritual truths' in some sense... maybe... "